Oz wrapup - Hello New Zealand

Now that we've left the Land of Oz, it's probably time for a summary. First, however, let's cover the last couple of days there. We got to Cairns a day late due to a mixup in airport arrival times. The folks at Alice Springs, both at the airport and the YHA, couldn't have been nicer but we did lose a day of touristing in Cairns. Got there late Christmas Eve. We exchanged Christmas gifts. One of us got a copy of "A Town Like Alice" by Nevill Shute (Hell of a good read, Shute is a master.) and the other got a CD of "The Shepparton Talk". Len Bidell, a surveyor who spent 30 or more years in the outback surveying roads, a bombing range and a nuclear bomb test site is drily hilarious and this CD is a cult classic. An added benefit, we aided the book store in Alice Springs. Christmas Day was as unfulfilling for a traveler as anywhere else. Nevertheless, Liz was frantic to see the area's fabled beaches. Buses weren't running, but the airport shuttle was, sort of. Liz negotiated a ride to Trinity Beach for a mere 30 dollars. One way. Before I'd let go of the driver, I insisted on some kind of deal for a ride back. Got the number of the airport service. Okay, the beach was fine, though most of it was just to look at and sunbathe. Seems there's a bit of a problem this time of year with jellyfish there (more on that later). If we were to swim, it would be only in one little area where a jellyfish-proof fence had been installed. A nice swim, some sunbathing and a stroll through a very pretty (read expensive) neighborhood. Call the shuttle service, wait an hour and a half for a ride back to the hostel. Later we discovered there was a rather nice lagoon a ten minute walk from there. Sigh.
The hostel was hosting a free Christmas dinner (barbecued sausages) and a couple we'd met at Uluru came over to join in. Jorrit and Audrey are both captains in the Dutch Military Police in their early thirties and use up their 9 weeks a year leave travelling the world. Next day they'd be scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef. We'd be there too, in a different spot, snorkeling.
This was something Liz had been waiting for the whole trip. Me, not so much. The water and I are not one. Liz, on the other hand,seems to have had a fish in her near ancestry. After few minutes, I'd seen the reef, a few fish, gotten tired of trying to breathe salt water (I kept dipping the snorkel) and went back on deck to a well-deserved beer and cigarette. Liz used nearly the entire three hours out there. Back to the jellyfish. It was highly, very highly, advised that we rent a lycra suit. Very reasonable charge. Very. The jellyfish were certainly out there. Did I mention I am not one with the water? I am even less than one with jellyfish. We did rent an underwater camera that Liz used to good effect, though the tide was high and the coral itself was nearly invisible to the lens. Lots of fish pics, though. Lots of fish, period. Even from the deck, there were always a few visible. All told, one of the things you must do in Australia and hang the expense.

Now for the summary. Damn nice place. They speak English here and will find your accent charming. Almost every little thing is a little different. Some things a lot different. Fascinating, from beautiful Sydney Harbor to hot, dry Alice Springs. One memory: riding the bus back from Kata Tjuta (The Olga's) in full cloudburst with "Riders On The Storm" blasting on the bus PA. The plants and animals are like nothing back home, though you often need to look closely to spot the differences. Hostels there are a pretty cool place to spend your time. You need to make your own bed, go down the hall to the toilet, wash your own dishes, that sort of thing. No need to depend on restaurants if you can find a grocery store. For half or less the price of a hotel (a lot less than that if you're alone and don't mind dorm sleeping) they're just the ticket.
　
Ah, beautiful New Zealand. Lush, green, soft contours of hills. Cold and wet. We've once again worked our magic on the weather. Saw a little of Auckland the afternoon we got there before the rain hit. Science note: Auckland is built on 48(!) dormant volcanoes. Not extinct, dormant. The youngest is 600 years old. At low tide it looks like a mud island in the harbor next to the bridge. About the harbor. Full of sailboats. 1 in 4 Aucklanders has access to a sailboat and uses it regularly.

Next morning, early of course, it was off to the Bay of Islands, way up on the northern tip. Because of the foul weather our excursion in the bay was limited and we didn't get to take the boat through the Hole in the Rock. Saw some dolphins, though. Big beasts. I forgot, we also saw them off Trinity Beach in Cairns. One of the people nearby said he'd been coming there for 20 years and this was only the second time he'd seen them. At the Bay of Islands, they're a fixture. On the bus ride, we also saw a damn big Kauri tree. Not in the redwood class but impressive. They were once quite common but proved way too useful with the young ones especially handy for ship's masts due to their self-trimming growth. 60 feet of very hard wood without a single knot, even about the right diameter. Never mind that it took a hundred or so years to reach that point, with the really big ones 800 years or so. No surprise, they're now rare and protected

One more early wakeup and a 4 hour bus ride to Rotorua. About the scheduling of the New Zealand leg of this trip. Liz was going quietly crazy trying to make sense of the New Zealand tourism web sites. Nothing seemed to add up and they all wanted you to pay up before you saw what you'd scheduled. nearing desperation, she spotted a phone number for the national tourist service. 1-888-792-5368. Global Support Center (USA) for New Zealand. Jackpot! She spent two hours with a nice young man who gave us a fully workable (if frantic, 2 weeks is not a lot of time to work with) itinerary, scheduled our route, made bus reservations, lodging and tour accomodations. One stop shopping. At a reasonable rate.

New Year's Eve. Drenching rain you wouldn't believe. And we have a morning tour scheduled to see the geysers and mudpits. Would have been spectacular pictures if I'd dared to take out the camera for more than a few seconds. Not to the level of Yellowstone (or so I understand, haven't been there yet) but pretty cool. The city park also has steam vents all over. That's why it's a park and not residential. Folks here still use the steam vents to cook with. Next on the tour, the Agrodome. Sheep shearing, cow milking, herd dog demonstrations, actually done quite well in a barn structure built for the purpose. This is what a lot of the folks here actually do for a living and they do it well. Last stop, nature preserve. Rush from shelter to shelter,pounding rain again, checking out a selection of several native birds. New Zealand has actually little in the way of native species except birds and the Tuatura, a very primitive lizard, only species of it's family left. Hatched with a third eye, skinned over within a few days. They live in slow motion, 8 heartbeats per minute, 3 year breeding cycle, up to 200 year lifespan. Look pretty much like any other lizard. Yes, we did see real live Kiwis. No pictures, darkened enclosures. They're nocturnal, burrow in daylight. Seems the really cool stuff is always no pictures.

Liz Here:

Mike is really a great travel companion, good natured, practical and efficient. We are on time wherever we go. His motto is " an hour early is no problem but 5 minutes late is a disaster". I say that to explain how we missed a plane in Alice Springs. When we checked in I told hostel Reception that we were going to Cairns (when our plane actually went to Cairns via Uluru). When I booked the trip I did not know if we would even see Uluru due to heat and tour expense. So I thought we might at least fly over it. We had a 40 minute layover in Uluru. I did not look at the travel booking beforehand. Lesson learned is to spend more time on line even if it costs $4 per hour. So the plane to Uluru departed first. We missed it and the next one was full so back to the YHA we went. The YHAs managed our booking changes. Qantas agent said it is covered by travel insurance and I’ll look into a claim when I figure Qantas charge.
Cairns is great! I am so sorry to have spent just 2 days there. I saw tours to Australia that only consisted of arriving in Cairns and leaving from Sydney. We missed the Daintree Rainforest! But we are going into jungles in Asia so we’ll experience rainforests but none so civil and safe as Cairns. The bus in Cairns costs $7 max but it doesn’t run on Christmas. I asked YHA Reception for beaches and as Mike wrote, if we had stayed right in town we’d have had all the beach he’d need (but no swimming). It is "stinger season" so beaches are shielded by nets to keep out jelly fish (and sharks and crocodiles). Trinity Beach is a totally classy beach and I swam and then chatted with a Canadian lady in the water.
Then I signed us up for a really expensive trip on "Quicksilver" to the Great Barrier Reef. Quicksilver dropped an engine and took an extra half hour to get to its diving destination. Insanity set in; I convinced myself that trip would convert Mike into a snorkeler. I even rented an underwater camera. Good thing I just want Mike to quit smoking and take up snorkeling. Otherwise I adore him just as he is. How did illusion of changing my partner sweep over me? Where’s Lisa, my psychologist? At least I got a lot of fish pictures (since the Quicksilver folks feed the fish so well every day). We had a good lunch too. I chatted with various folks on the slow ride out. While Mike watched a delectable girl put on sun screen I chatted with a happy gay man from Townville. He was snorkeling with his charming Chinese partner. Infectious is happiness for people well paired off. Then I chatted inside Quicksilver in A/C (Aircon) comfort with a South African mom with a fine family from Sydney. She too had a bipolar family member and said that there is a 28-day time released mood stabilizer, Depa. That means to me Depacote. A year ago I heard rumor of a time released 28 day mood stabilizer but did not find it in USA. My suspicion of legal conspiracy to keep it out of market is sparked (since so many lawyers are bipolar).

It is New Year's Eve. We are in Rotorua, in New Zealand. The sound of rain was so noisy this morning that it caused me alarm. It was a very wet day. That never ending storm from Antarctica has followed us this entire December. Promise is clearing by Monday. Meanwhile the entire north island of NZ is soaked. Disappointed campers, bikers, hikers and tourists from the Northern Hemisphere are trying to make the most of their holiday. Imagine a long Fourth of July week with drenching and chilling rain. But NZ is green. Agriculture is thriving even if the tourists are sad.
Our bus tour today includes us along with 3 other American couples. Young Chicagoans on a honeymoon, then middle aged folks from Atlanta and Maryland. The young Scottish engineer, Gary works on contracts for electrical energy improvements and bases himself out of Monterey, Mexico. (We invited him for New Years’ Eve dinner but he bailed because he was drenched and his camera was wet and worrying him.) A couple comprised of an Asian woman and her man from Sweden completed our group. (He said he missed skiing.) Are Americans more visible because it is a smaller place than Australia? A tourist can get their arms around NZ unlike huge Australia.
So far we have been served by Maori, a good sign that they actually are employed here (unlike the Aborigines in Alice Springs who are not usually in the tourist trade). Our guide in the Waitomo Cave where we saw glow worms emphasized his descent and was firm about no picture taking in his privately owned family company. No picture; no wonder; the arrangement of lights in the riverboat ride deep in the cave is worth recreating for Sci Fi movie sets. Today’s very competent coach driver, Shelly was Maori and so was our guide Melody who showed us the geyser and boiling mud pits. We saw the Maori building that we saw on our PBS travel log so I felt reassured that we were seeing the right places on our inexpensive bus tour.

Happy New Year to All!!!!!!!

Adelaide, Alice Springs and Uluru

The last few days have been a whirlwind. First Adelaide then Alice Springs then Uluru.  We boarded  the train to Adelaide from Melbourne at 8 AM. Very comfortable, seating like first class airlines, not all that fast but  a good look at farm country and backyards. Like American trains. We were met at the station at 6 PM by Graham and Jill Ottens, yet another ATC connection.

Again, very fine folks. They're an inviting, cultured couple, secure and accomplished, happy to share their home and all too often overlooked city. They live in an upscale, genteel neighborhood that wouldn't be out of place just off any college campus in the US. Again, a smart and comfortable home. Graham is a retired teacher, principal, administrator and on-going cricket enthusiast. We watched a quick game on the telly (special format, not the multi-day test style) and with his help I actually started to sort of understand what cricket players  do. Jill specialized in infant and child care while raising a family of four. They have been enjoying their retirement with travel in Britain, France and the US.  In a tour-de-force  of hospitality  they served us a a full course lamb dinner.

Sunday, they sacrificed attendance at their Lutheran church to give us a tour of Adelaide and the surrounding countryside. This is the Barossa Valley, wine country, has been since 1851, when a fellow named Seppetsfield started planting vines. Some vines have been there so long they no longer need to be supported, having grown trunks like a tree. Fine wine too. We had a bottle of a dry red at Maggie Beers' with a gourmet lunch featuring duck, pheasant and chicken pate.  Then a true piece of the Australian bizarre, a tree used as the dwelling of a Silesian pioneer , J.F.Herbig and his family ,eventually numbering 16 children.  Then a very pleasant surprise, the Holden antique car museum. There was  an admission charge but I asked if there were a discount for GM employees. "Why yes, Holden employees and their guests get free admission. Isn't GM their parent company? Just go on in."  Wow, saved 48 bucks! A big museum with several hundred cars , a very extensive motorcycle collection and  a special emphasis on alternative fuels. They had the oldest Australian car(?), a steamer built in 1899 and run recently in the London to Brighton antique car run.

Out to dinner  with Graham and Jill and an evening watching "The Promise" a fast paced drama about Palestinians and Israelis and the British caught inbetween and the injustices of the land grab. The weather deteriorated with rain during our stay. Of course our next stop would be at Alice Springs so we'd be sure to experience the brutal Australian summer there. Right?

It did start out that way. A quick plane trip Monday morning and a bus ride to the hostel. A cheap dorm room, mixed sexes, bunk beds. Fortunately, there was a sort of alcove with unclaimed bunks. Turned out it was only for the night. Liz booked a tour, "Have more fun ... on EMU Run. Not cheap at $350 each, but it met the core mission of seeing what's unique in Australia. We exchanged $100 in accomodations and the price of meals for 3 days for a tour to a hot dry group of rocks. Not as if we'd have another chance at it. Chill out a while and dinner at Bojangles. If you're ever in Alice Springs, be sure to go to Bojangles! Damnedest old West style decor I've ever seen (Want to see it? www. bossaloon.com . They have several internet cameras going. You can even buy a friend a drink online.) One exotic mixed grill dinner. Kangaroo (delicious), crocodile meat balls (just okay), camel (also delicious), buffalo (indistinguishable from tough beef), mashed potatoes, salad. Enough for two for $30. No tax or tip of course.

The big day, Uluru. Up at 4:30 for a 5:45 pickup. Warm even at that hour. A 500 kilometer bus ride through an arid, forbidding scrub covered landscape. Could have been worse. Our guide informed us that Australia has had a two year long wet cycle and everything was much greener than it would have been. About our guide. Dan is a true Australian. Lots of personality, a bit rough-hewn, direct, long blond hair, tremendous endurance and unfailing good humor. He's about to leave the guide job for film school and has a couple of documentaries and feature films already scripted. Finally, into the park. Uluru rises out of the flat plain 3,000 feet, 3 miles or so long by about a mile and a half wide. Impressive. We got there just in time for lunch and then had a good hike halfway around the rock - we all opted out of the entire 11 km walk - it was very warm indeed. Dan enhanced the hike with many historic, geological and natural history lectures. Indeed, throughout the bus rides and hikes he had stories about the early explorers (google Stuart, Burke and Wills - too much to relate here but any to any Australian these are household names, like Lewis and  Clark), what's edible and not, how the aborigines survived here. Uluru is fascinating in detail. What at first looks like a featureless smooth rock is in fact riddled with grottos, caves, creases sheltering pools, everything an aborigine would need to make life a little more comfortable.  By now it was getting towards dark. Time to get to the sunset viewing area for the obligatory photo session. Many pro photographers have done much better than I did but one must try. As night fell, the cloud cover got heavier. Lightning flashed in the distance. Hmm, this looked familiar. The bus went through rain on the way to the campsite. We all pitched in for a chicken stirfry dinner, unloaded the swags (pretty neat canvas sleeves with a pad underneath, enclosing a sleeping bag and pillow)  in various sheltered areas (dinner enclosure, laundry room, anything with a roof). Once again the weather was unseasonably cool and wet.

Up at sparrowfart (4 AM), breakfast, then off for sunrise pictures. Foiled by clouds, no glorious colors on the rock. Kata Tjuta looked pretty, though. At 25 or so kilometers it was our next stop. A sister formation of Uluru, it's the other end of a sort of bent chunk of sandstone that is exposed at either end. Enough of that, computer time is running too short to go into a full description. Anyway, it looks a lot different with lots of rock domes instead of just the one big one.  The hike through was a lot rougher than the day before too. Not that it wasn't interesting. Somewhere in the middle the rain came down, accompanied by some majestic thunder and lightning. Immediate waterfalls. A visitor to this site has about a 4 in a thousand chance on seeing it in the rain. Apparently our presence had bettered those odds. Just too cool! Of course we got soaked to the skin but well worth it. I can't include the video but will be delighted to show it when we get home. Very rare footage. Finished the hike about noon, did lunch again, drove to a campsite near King's Canyon, had time for a swim. Barbecued kangaroo steak for dinner. Slept under the stars, exhausted.

Up early again for King's Canyon. Much older than the other two site and much rougher country. Also one heck of a climb just to get started. a couple of hundred yards up a 60 degree slope, fortunately with footholds cut into most areas. Much more and more varied vegetation, including cycads, which are otherwise found mostly in the tropics and are the oldest type of large plant on earth. This valley houses the only members of the species found in Australia (I think I got that right, check me on that). In the very center of the valley is the Garden of Eden (that's the name I heard). Lush ancient vegetation. A pretty pool at the end of the stream running down the middle. Blue sky. Swimming. Very cold water. Lots of tired tourists. A walk out longer and a bit easier than going in. Absolutely astounding and confusing geology. Chunks of sandstone on the ground you can break like a soda cracker. Don't go near the edge of the frequent cliffs. For certain the whole thing could give under your weight. Better hurry to see this one. In a few  hundred  thousand years (an eyeblink, geologically speaking) the whole thing will crumble into a sandhill.

19,20,21,23,24

Time presses. A plane to Cairns to catch. Will post now even though there's so much more. One parting picture of Christmas in Australia.

Two and a half weeks in Oz

We've been two and a half weeks in Australia now. Already seen a lot and done a lot. Our next stop was at Phillip Island staying with Phil and Jean Dunstan, another of the couples Liz found through ATC. If the people we've met so far are any indication, this is an organization of the nicest people ever. Phil and Jean made us feel instantly at home. A very nice home it was, too. They'd had it built as the ideal vacation cottage with space for visiting children, grandchildren and whoever else happens along. They're on the upper floor and guests downstairs in their own living area with full amenities. They also thoughtfully located themselves in a dynamite tourist attraction. Long nature walks, a few wildlife preserves, natural history and Vietnam War (Yes, the Aussies were there too, I'd actually met a few of their SAS people when I was there) museum, the motorcycle GP roadrace track, the Penguin Parade to name the few we're aware of. There's more we didn't even have time to research.

We got to San Remo, this side of the bridge from Phillip Island and where the Dunstans live, about noon. Deciding it was too early to bother our hosts, we stopped in the little business district for lunch. Everything closed. Something about working on the power lines. What the heck, take a look at the island. Not all that big, maybe 25 k's square, more properly diagonal to the compass. Lunch at The Chocolate Factory. Never would have stopped there otherwise, but the first place that advertised food. Poor folks were overwhelmed by the overflow trade that would otherwise have been eating elsewhere. Hell of a wait, but a pretty good curry (nearly all the staff and therefore menu was malaysian) at the end. Declined to pay to see the chocolate room so only glimpsed the chocolate tunnel and the chocolate tree with who-knows-how-may other chocolate delights undiscovered.  My belly feels funny thinking about it. We covered most of the main road and ended up on the other end of the island at The Nobbies. Sort of where bits of the island tail off into the sea, a little like the eastern end of the U.P. Prime whale and seal watching site in season. Just now the only thing happening is baby gulls growing right outside the restaurant window.

About 4 we pulled into Phil and Jean's place. Too late to do much more se we settled in and talked a while. Since they'd just returned from a Christmas luncheon we went out to find ourselves dinner. Coming back, we had a glass of wine with them and talked into the night. Did a lot of that the last couple of days. We all had similar interests and got on more than well. Damn, I clean forgot to get their pictures!

The next morning we got serious. Cape Woolamai has a very serious nature walk of maybe 10 k's down the beach, up on top of the cliffs, out to the highest point on the island and back. Big nesting ground for the mutton bird (brown petrel?) . Their burrows were everywhere with a lot of large broken  eggshells that the crows got. Every other evidence of them was hidden in those holes in the ground. On the beach, we happened on a lot of very lightweight, fragile white rocks. Took a while to recognize them as the remains of cuttlefish. We actually saw a wild Echidna! Right next to the trail, not nearly as quiet or well hidden as it must have thought. Also the usual beautiful seaside cliffs, white sand beaches, unusual vegetation, you know, the standard thing for this part of Australia.

I still hadn't seen  a wombat so in the afternoon we went to a wildlife park. Next thing to a petting zoo, but there were the wombats. Cute, not terribly bright vegetarian marsupial teddy bears. I guess one would dress out at 60 pounds or so. It was a hell of a big place with uncounted kangaroos, echidnas, emus, tasmanian devils (caged, of course), dingos, cassowary, many other birds, some caged, some running loose.  I really felt sorry for the discouraged looking kookaburras in the cage with their wild brethren just a few feet away. The kangaroos and some of the black swans were very sophisticated and knew just how to accept handfuls of the grain provided by the management. Line right up, they would.

Dinner out, a movie (The Power of One - South Africa, apartheid) on DVD, more conversation, bed. Got moving slowly the next morning but did make the feeding of the pelicans, a ritual around here, right where the bridge to the island starts and the commercial fishermen dock. Great way to get rid of cleaning scraps, Big, big birds. Easily twice the size of the ones I remember from Florida. Somehow, nobody had mentioned the stingrays. In the middle of the pelican feeding my eyes strayed to the shallow water nearby and I noticed a dark shadow the size of a dinner table. Moving. There was another one. In maybe two feet of water. A toddler splashing in the water maybe six feet away. Surreal. After she finished feeding the pelicans I cornered the nice lady and questioned her. Yep, sting rays-half a dozen or so of them live under the dock and boats most of the year. Never bothered anybody. Damn!

Our last evening at Phillip Island and time for the Penguin Parade. The Little Penguins (if they have another name, I have no idea what it is) spend the entire day out in the ocean and will only come out to reunite with mate and chick(s) when it gets dark enough to discourage flying predators.  Then only in little groups of 6 to about 20. Race across the beach as fast as those little legs will carry them,  stopping close enough to vegetation to dive into in case of danger, apparently to catch their breath. Their burrows (again with burrowing birds)cover an area a kilometer or so wide and a kilometer and a half deep. We were confined to concrete bleachers on the beach and a boardwalk above and among the burrows. As interesting as the beach run was, the glimpses of home life among the cute little beasts was even more so. Not an especially sedate bunch of birds with many demands for food from the chicks (Dad, hurry up and puke so I can eat!) and squabbles. Sorry, no photography allowed, strictly enforced. Home late and up early to turn in the car in Melbourne. Another night in the youth hostel and then a train to Adelaide.

Liz here.
The purpose of this blog is to inform others about hosteling. I learned about hosteling through a member of MPWN, Michigan Professional Women's Network. The general concept is not same as signing up as a member.

I stayed in a hostel was just after 9/11. Over the Dec 2011 break I took my son Ben to Washington, D.C. I wanted him to experience a hostel and bought us each a membership in Hostels International. Ben objected to their curfew and stayed with his cousins in nearby Maryland. My aim was to teach Ben about traveling economically. The purpose of this blog is to explain hosteling with pictures. A hostel is generally more secure and centrally located. While in Washington, D.C. I stayed in a female dorm and met a woman from Australia who invited me to tour Georgetown with her. A single bed costs roughly $25-30 per night. A private room is $85 in the safe heart of a city where a cheap hotel room is $120.

Mike and I stayed in a couples room in North Melbourne for $85 per night. Our room had a full sized bed and bunk beds in case we are travling with our children. The bathroom is shared and not in our room. It is close by.

A hostel check-in area is secured to keep out a problem person. Cameras monitor the site. The cheerful and youthful staff are wonderful concierges, trained to know the area and assist people of all ages, cultures and in various developmental conditions. Space is well designed and handicapped accessible. The kitchen offers refrigerator space, microwaves, cook tops and dishes for guests. Laundry is on site. Melbourne's hostel has a cafe with plenty of vegetarian options.

TVs and WiFi abound in common lounge areas. Every evening inexpensive events are offered. Group trips are offered. A Christmas dinner is offered for $12. A stay in a hostel is a way to meet people from the world over.

The biggest chore is that guests pull off their sheets and put them in a laundry basket before check out. Towels must be requested and rented. Parking cost $5 in Melbourne.

Not our hostel, but there are many in the area, catering to many different tastes